Friday, 30 September 2016

A New Spin On Drunkard's Path Blog Tour for C&T Publishing

Have you heard the buzz about the new quilting book A New Spin On Drunkard's Path?

Disclosure/Disclaimer:

Chris Dodsley of made by ChrissieD is a friend of John Kubiniec. John provided mbCD with an electronic copy of A New Spin on Drunkard's Path and a set of DP templates in return for this book review. The giveaway winner's book (hard or electronic copy) is provided by C&T Publishing and John will provide the giveaway DP templates. The Maribel FQ collection used to make mbCD's sample Bowties quilt was provided by Windham Fabrics. All items were provided at no cost to mbCD. In all other respects, this post is for informational purposes only, all opinions are mbCD's own and no payment or commission is received on click-throughs to links shared.

A New Spin On Drunkard's Path is a brand new quilting book. Written by my friend and fellow NYC Metro MOD Quilt Guild buddy, John Kubiniec @Big Rig Quilting, he's asked me take a look and share my thoughts with you today.

When I started pouring through the book I loved it so much that I had to go a step further and makeup one of the quilts - I'll share that with you in a bit but first you'll want to know something about the book and John - oh and there'll be a giveaway too :D

The Book

back cover - A New Spin On Drunkard's Path

Here, in short, is my low down on A New Spin On Drunkard's Path:

* 12 projects you can mix and match and enjoy playing with

* well written with great photography and attention to detail

*simply and beautifully laid out

* patterns look complex but can be created in strips which are a doddle if you use chain piecing.

* material listings include backing, binding and even batting quantities

* cutting is divided into strips and sub cuts making it fast

* alongside a photo of a 'real' quilt finish, for each pattern there are layout diagrams in a couple of colourways and border suggestions.

* only 2 templates required for all projects in book - traceable from the book or available to purchase separately.

The Author

I could tell you lots about John - quilter, pattern designer, Bernina Ambassador, teacher, author, etc, etc, but he tells his own story much better than I can here on his website. I first met John when I took his Transparency quilt class at The City Quilter in Manhattan in 2012. Taught over 3 classes, I only attended the first class as I rushed back to England to be with my Dad when he died - I explained my absence in an email to John and he sent me a very personal reply; our friendship began right there.

John's connection with Drunkard's Path quilts began right before I moved to the States. In 2011, there was an amazing red and white quilt show Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red & White Quilts held at The Armoury. I'll forever be disappointed that I didn't see the show, but John did see it and this particular photo he took on the first day has continued to influence his work ever since, leading to the publication of his book A New Spin On Drunkard's Path.

As soon as I opened the book I enjoyed reading about John's visit to the show and how the book has developed in his classes and with input and feedback from students over the years and it struck a chord. It's a long time since I made a Drunkard's Path quilt - I made one early on, I think it was only the third quilt I'd made.

My Drunkard's Path Quilts

This is my quilt below, and you can see more pics in this post here. I love sewing curves, using as few pins as possible - ranging from 3 pins down to none. Believe me, the more curves you sew the easier it gets; put in 20 mins practice and you can become an expert, not a word of a lie. Don't let fear of curves put you off checking out this book!

I didn't get past the first quilt in John's book before I was itching to get to the sewing machine and make one - the Bowties Quilt. This is the same layout used in the stunning red and white quilt on the book cover - basically a drunkard's path block with half square triangle corners.

C&T Publishing is offering a free copy giveaway of A New Spin On Drunkard's Path book - note, a hard copy will be sent to domestic US winners while an electronic copy will be sent to winners outside the US. Additionally, John Kubiniec will personally send a set of Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Large DP Templates to the giveaway winner.

Here are 8 chances to win A New Spin On Drunkard's Path and DP Templates - you need to leave a separate comment here on my blog for each chance to win:

1: Leave a comment below telling me if you love or hate sewing curves and why.

2: Follow the made by ChrissieD blog via email or blog reader such as Bloglovin' then leave a comment below letting me know where you're following via. Existing followers can join in too :D

If you're a WordPress, Google+, no-reply or anonymous commenter, or maybe you're just not sure, please add your email address to each comment. If I can't find you I'll immediately draw another winner.

This giveaway is open to everyone, anywhere in the world, but note again that only US domestic winners will receive a hard copy of the book, winners outside the US will receive an electronic copy instead. The draw closes on Saturday, 8 October at 10.00 am (EST). A winner will be chosen from the comments using a random number generator, contacted via email and shared at the bottom of this post.

Best of luck!

AND THE WINNER IS!!!

The winner of John's new book A New Spin on Drunkard's Path and a set of Perfect Patchwork large DP templates is comment #212 by Sonya.

Below Sonya gives us her love/hate response to sewing curves.

Many congratulations Sonya, I think you'll be firmly in the love camp once you've read John's tips and technique in this book! I've sent you an email asking for your snail mail address so be sure to check your junk folder if it isn't in your inbox. :D

Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :)

Disclosure/Disclaimer:

Chris Dodsley of made by ChrissieD is a friend of John Kubiniec. John provided mbCD with an electronic copy of A New Spin on Drunkard's Path and a set of DP templates in return for this book review. The giveaway winner's book (hard or electronic copy) is provided by C&T Publishing and John will provide the giveaway DP templates. The Maribel FQ collection used to make mbCD's sample Bowties quilt was provided by Windham Fabrics. All items were provided at no cost to mbCD. In all other respects, this post is for informational purposes only, all opinions are mbCD's own and no payment or commission is received on click-throughs to links shared.

Linky Parties This post may be linked to some great Linky Parties, always a great source of inspiration too. If you click through to my 'Fave Linky Parties' page you can see where I like to share my work.

I think I've only sewn the Drunkard's Path block once, in a block for our marriage quilt many years ago, but this year I'm learning to hand-applique curves - making circles with the Quilty 365 quiltalong.

I've never done curves and I'm a bit afraid of trying. The book looks fascinating and I can see that just paging through it will inspire me, get some of my creative juices going, and give me the encouragement and confidence to push me out of my comfort zone. LOVE what you did with your quilts (but I always love your work)!

Wow! I really like the twist. A drunkards path is on my list of quilts to make, in fact I've actually set aside the fabric I want to use. Now that I'm one step closer I think I'd like to try this design. Thank for the opportunity.

I have been fascinated with curves for a very long time but I find them intimidating. After saying that, it is on my bucket list to conquer and start making them. I would love to win this giveaway. I think it is exactly the motivation that I need!!!

Great write up. I have maybe a love hate relationship with curves. Love the results, not so much the process. But the quilts I'm seeing from this book is really making me want to sew some curves! Thanks for the chance to win.rpsandbag at gmail.com

I guess I never thought about curves in quilting as I really didn't have a problem with them in sewing clothes. But, since I am new to quilting, the only curved pieces of quilting I have done, were pieced by hand.

I'm neutral on sewing curves. I just tried it for the first time and found it hard to keep an even seam, but I realize I need practice and the tools to make it easier. That's why I need to win this contest, lol! I subscribe to your blog and subscribed to John's as well.I love your quilt, so pretty!

i like curves just fine. have pieced some drunkards path by hand, and am eager to try on my machine. it just takes time and going slow; i have tried curves on the machine, just not something this curved.